Status of the 9th Edition of the MA Building Code

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January 19, 2017

Approval of 9th Edition Amendments

The proposed Massachusetts Amendments to the 2015 IBC were approved by The Massachusetts Executive Office of Administration and Finance (A&F) during their January Meeting. Their approval permits the BBRS to hold a public hearing, which is the last hurdle for promulgation of the 9th Edition.

Public Hearing and Comments

Two public hearings are currently being scheduled for the Eastern and Western portions of the state. One public hearing will be held in Boston on March 7th with a second public hearing being held in Springfield on March 14th. Those who cannot attend a public hearing can submit written public comment to the BBRS.

Code Basis

The 9th Edition of the code will be based on the 2015 IBC with MA specific amendments.

Date of Adoption

The desire of the BBRS is to have the 9th Edition adopted on July 1, 2017.

Use of Old Code

The adoption of the new provisions includes a concurrency period which will be in effect from the adoption date and the following six months. During those six months, either the 8th edition, or the 9th edition can be utilized, but designers are not able to pick and choose between the two. The date of building permit application will determine which code will be utilized for each project.

Blended Printed Code

The ICC has agreed to print a blended version of the code which will incorporate the Massachusetts amendments directly into the code book. This blended version, however, will not be the official copy of the code sold by the State House Bookstore. The State House Bookstore will still sell separate copies of the MA amendments. The blended version of the code will consist of three volumes, as follows:

  • Volume 1: 2015 International Residential Code (IRC) with MA Amendments
  • Volume 2: 2015 International Building Code (IBC) and 2015 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) with MA amendments
  • Volume 3: 2015 International Existing Building Code (IEBC), 2015 International Mechanical Code (IMC), and 2015 International Fire Code (IFC) with MA amendments

Have questions on how this affects your design? Contact us with questions about the implications of the code change!

Application of any information provided, for any use, is at the reader’s risk and without liability to Code Red Consultants. Code Red Consultants does not warrant the accuracy of any information contained in this blog as applicable codes and standards change over time. The application, enforcement and interpretation of codes and standards may vary between Authorities Having Jurisdiction and for this reason, registered design professionals should be consulted to determine the appropriate application of codes and standards to a specific scope of work.